Key support



Aug. 12, 1952 R. c. I EGAT ET A1. 2,606,438

` KEY SUPPORT v Filed March 24, 1949 /TTORNEY Patented Aug. 12, 1952v i 60ans KEY SUPPORT g Robert C. Legat, New Britain, and Emilio Baretta,

' Kensington, Conn., assignors to The G; E.

Prentice Mfg. Co., Kensington, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Appiication'll/iarch 24, 1949, Serial No. 83,182

(Cl. 'l0- 456) 9 Claims. l

'This invention relates generally to key cases and more particularly to key supporting means for such cases.

`The principal object of the invention is to provide'an improved key holding means for reliably securing the individual keys in a case. More specifically the invention contemplates providing a key holder which will permit the key hangers or hooks to be readily inserted into or removed from such holder, but which will automatically secure an inserted key hook in position thereon until it is desired to release such hook.

Other-'objects of the invention as well as the novel features of `its construction, will become apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the blank from which the supporting plate 'of the holder is formed;' Fig. 2 is a plan view of the blank from which the key hanger retaining plate of the holder is formed; Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the key holder assembly showing the same secured to a portion of a key case and with the retaining plate swung to an open inoperative position to show the arrangement of the .parts intermediate such plate and the supporting plate of the assembly; Fig. l is a sectional view taken along the line llof Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a front elevational View of the key holder as it appears in the casing with the parts in assembled operative condition; Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line B-'t of Fig. 5 and showing the retaining plate in its normal position; Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken along the line 'II-"i of Fig. 5 and showing the relation or the parts when the retaining plate is depressed to permit the removal or insertion of a key hanger, and Fig. 8 is a side elevational view of Fig. 5.

In the drawings, the reference numeral It indicates a portion of a key case which may be made @f leather or any other suitable material and which may have any suitable configuration to accommodate keys connected to the hangers or hooks El of the key holder of this invention. The holder is composed of a supporting plate I2 which may be formed from a sheet metal blank i3 such as shown in Fig. l of the drawings. The blank itis provided with a plurality of spaced slots it arranged ina row across the upper part of the blank and having enlarged portions I5 at the lowerV ends thereof so that each opening V has an inverted substantially keyhole shape.

Stamped out of the material of blank i3 on each side of the row of slots It and located adjacently above the upper ends of the slot portions I5, is an abutment E6 whose upper surface is curved and whose lower edge or lip forms a latch or stop for the retaining plate i l of the holder, as will hereinafter become more clear. In forming the supporting plate I2 from the blank I3 the upper portion of the latter is first bent forwardly at substantially right angles to the remainder of the plate and along a longitudinal line extending intermediate the ends of the enlarged portions I5 of the openings so that the head I8 of a key hook may be readily inserted through such enlarged forwardly extending portion of an opening le while holding the key hook Ii vertically. The upper part of the blank I 3 is then bent rearwardly so that the area thereof from the iirst mentioned bend to the upper ends of the openings is substantially U-shaped in form (note Fig. '7). The upper edge portion of the blank I3 is then bent downwardly to close the space between the legs of the U-shaped bend and thereby form a backing i9 for the forwardly projecting bead-like portion Z9 so formed along the upper edge of the supporting plate l2 (note Figs. 6 to 8). It will be noted from Fig. 3 of the drawings that the bead-like portion Eil extends the entire length of the plate E2 and is provided with six openings or slots i4 spaced to accommodate six key hooks I I arranged in iiat overlapping relation, as is shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

Adjacently below the row of openings I4 and located centrally of the length of the blank i3 is an integral strip or strap 2l formed by cut-outs of the blank material on both sides thereof and disposed slightly forwardly of the plate l2 (note Fig. 6) rIVhe strap 2 IA serves as a holder or mounting for a metal strip 22 which is supported intermediate its ends by strap 2l and extends under the latter and over the iront surface of the supporting plate I2 (note Fig. 3). The strip 22 is made of spring material and its ends are'bent outwardly from the strap 2! to provide two oppositely disposed spring members which are normally inclined with relation to the front surface of supporting plate I2, as is shown more clearly in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The free ends of the strip or spring member 22 bear against the under surface of the retaining plate I 1 to normally bias such plate forwardly so that its upper edge is in engagement with the projecting lips of the stop members it, it on the bead-like portion 2B of plate i2.

Located below the strap 2 l of supporting plate I2 are three longitudinally spaced openings 23 through which extend the Shanks of rivets 2t by which such plate and consequently the holder assembly are secured to the key case portion Ill. The areas of plate i2 around openings 23 may be depressed, as is shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 6 of the drawings, in order that the upset forward ends of the rivets 2/3 will be substantially fiush with the front surface of supporting plate I2. Provided on the lower edge of bank I3 is a pair of aligned rectangularly-shaped openings 25 through which extend the curled hinge members 26, 26 by which the retaining plate I'I is hingedly connected to the supporting plate I2. It will be noted that the hinged connection of plate I'I with plate I2 is provided between the lower edges of such plates so that retainer plate I'I may be swung forwardly and downwardly away from the supporting plate I2 to the position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The configuration of retaining plate Il is such that when in its normal overlying position on plate I2, it will cover the enlarged portions I of the slots I4 which extend into plate I2 below the bead-like portion 2D (note Fig. 5). Provided along the upper edge of the retaining plate I I is a plurality of spaced ngers 21 which are disposed at right angles to such plate and extend rearwardly thereof. The fingers 2l are equal in number to the number of slots I4 and are arranged on retaining plate I'I so that in the normal position of the latter on the supporting plate I2 (note Figs. 5 and 6), such fingers will block the enlarged portions I5 of the slots Il which are in the beadlike portion 25.

It will be understood from the foregoing, that in the normal condition of the parts, the retaining plate I'I will overlie the supporting plate I2 and will have been pressed past the stops or abutments IG, IS on the bead-like portion so that the lips thereof will prevent the retaining plate I'I from swinging outwardly and downwardly away from a position in which the ngers 2l thereof will no longer block the enlarged portions I5 of the slots I4 in the bead-like portion 20. It will be noted that the smooth curved upper surfaces of the stops IS, IG will facilitate this proper assembling or" the two plates and that when the plates are in assembled relation, the retaining plate Il will conceal from the View of the user, the enlarged portions I5 of the slots, the spring member 22, the upset ends of the rivets 22 and the hinged connection between the two plates. The spring member 22 is so constructed that its ends will normally maintain the retaining plate I'I in a raised position with its upper edge engaging the stops I6, I6 and its ngers 2'I blocking the enlarged portions I5 of the slots in the bead-like portion 20. In the normal condition of the parts therefore, the heads I8 of the key hangers II cannot be passed through the enlarged portions IS of the slots so that the key hangers cannot be disengaged from the beadlike portion 2). When the user desires to disengage a hook from the bead-like portion 20 or to insert another hook therein, he merely depresses the retaining plate I'I against the tension of the spring 22. As yplate I'I moves toward the supporting plate I2 under such pressure, the ngers 2 of plate I'I will enter into the enlarged portions I5 of the slots in plate I2 below the bead-like portion 2l] and the upper edge of retaining plate II will expose to the users View the outer ends of the enlarged portions I5 of the slots in the bead-like portion 2B. When the retaining plate I'I has been pressed in as far as it will go, sucient of the enlarged portions I5 4 of the slots in the bead-like portion 20 will have been exposed to permit the ready removal or insertion of a key hanger head I8 through an enlarged slot portion. Thus, a key hanger hook II may be easily detached or inserted when the retaining plate I'I is so pressed inwardly, by raising the hook to a vertical position and then using the exterior surface of the retaining plate as a guide, passing the hook through the slot in the manner illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawings. Due to the construction of the spring member 22, relatively little force is required to press the retaining plate II inwardly and the free ends of such member will readily slide over the under surface of such plate as they are spread under the applied force. The inward movement of the retaining plate I'I is stopped when it comes into engagement with the outer surface of the strap 2I, such strap consequently not only serving as a support for the spring member 22, but in the operation of the device also serving as a means for limiting the hinged movement of the retaining plate I'I in one direction. As soon as the applied force on retaining plate I'I is released, the spring member 22 will raise it automatically to its normal position, in which position the fingers 2'I will again .prevent the disengagement of a key hook II from the bead-like portion as has been described.

t will be evident from the foregoing, that the present invention provides a simply constructed, key holding means which is attractive in appearance, which is easy to manipulate and which will automatically lock the key hangers in position until positively actuated to permit the disengagement of such hangers. It will also be evident that while we have illustrated in the drawings and hereabove described a .preferred embodiment of our invention, various modifications and changes may be made therein Without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A key support for a key case or the like, comprising a supporting .plate having in its upper part a bead-like forwardly projecting portion and a plurality of openings extending transversely of said bead-like portion and having enlarged portions adjacent to the line of juncture of said bead-like portion with the body of said supporting plate, the enlarged portions of said slots being of a size to .permit the passage therethrough of the heads of key hooks, a retainer plate movably connected to said supporting plate, the upper portion of said retainer plate normally blocking the removal of key hook heads through the enlarged slot portions and being movable from its normal position towards said supporting plate to permit passage of the heads through such enlarged slot portions, and yieldable means intermediate said supporting plate and said retainer plate for maintaining the latter in its normal position and for yieldably resisting movement of said retainer plate toward said supporting plate.

2. A key support for a key case or the like, comprising a supporting plate having in its upper part a bead-like forwardly projecting portion and a plurality of openings extending transversely of said :bead-like portion and having enlargedfportions adjacent to the line of juncture of said bead-like portion with the body of said supporting plate, the enlarged portions of said slots being of a size to permit the passage therethrough of the heads of key hooks, a retainer plate :overlying ksaid `Supporting plate :below the bead-like portion ofthe latter, hinge means vpirotally connecting said retainer pla-te to said supporting plate, .the upper Iportionofpsaid retainer plate normally bloozklrigsthe removal of keyhook heads through the enlargedslot portions and being movable lfrom its normalzposition' inwardly towards said supporting plate toA permitpassage of the heads through such enlargedslot portions, spring means mounted on said supporting plate and 4positioned intermediate the latter and said retainer plate, .said spring means maintaining said retainer plate in its normal position and yieldingly resisting :movement of said retainer plate .towards said supporting plate, .and stop means for limiting the .outward `movement of said :retainer plate under .the innuence of ,said spring means.

`3. A "key 'support -for a key oase or the like, comprising a supporting :platehaving a planar body portion and a orwardly projecting. beadlike portion Vadjacently.apoye said planar portion, said bead-like portion having, a plurality of transverse slots therein, the upper portions of said slots being narrow andthe :lower portions of said slots adjaoentlyl to said planar portion boing yenlarged to permit thepassage therethrough of the heads of key hooks, theenlarged por.- tions `of said slots eX-tending -into .thematerial of said planar portion, a retainer plate .movably connected to said supporting plate and 'having at its upper end a pluralityof offset lfingersequal in number to said slots, said retainer plate being normally positioned 'so that said fingers block the enlarged slot portions on said bead-like portion and being movable from its normal position inwardly towards said supporting-plate to remove said ngers from their Iblocking relation with such `enlarilied slot portions onnsaid beadlike portion and to permit passageofl the hook heads therethrough, said :lingers during ,the inward ,movement of said .retainer plate entering into the .enlarged slot portions in said plana-r portion of -the supporting plate, spring means positioned` .intermediate said supporting plate and .said retainer -plate ytor maintaining ithe latter in its normal position and fior yieldingly resisting movement of the same towards said supporting plate, and stop means on said beadlike portion for limiting the outward movement of said retainer plate under the influence of said spring means.

4. A key support for a key case or the like, comprising a supporting plate having a planar body portion and a forwardly projecting beadlike portion adjacently above said planar portion, said bead-like portion having a plurality of transverse slots therein, the upper portions of said slots being narrow and the lower portions of said slots adjacently to said planar portion being enlarged to permit the passage therethrough of the heads of key hooks, the enlarged portions of said slots extending into the material of said planar portion, a retainer plate movably connected to said supporting plate and having at its upper end a plurality of odset iingers equal in number to said slots, said retainer plate being normally positoned so that said ngers block the enlarged slot portions on said bead-like portion and being movable from its normal position inwardly towards said supporting plate to remove said fingers from their blocking relation with such enlarged slot portions on said bead-like portion and to permit passage of the hook heads therethrough, said fingers during the inward movement of said retainer plate `entering into the emerged-slot por.- tions sin said planar portion of the vsupporting plate, a Spring member positioned intermedi-ate said supporting plate and said retainer plate for maintaining the latter in its normal position and for yieldingly resisting movement of the -same towards said supporting plate, said spring Vmember being secured at its central portion to -said supporting plate below the enlarged portions of said slots and having two free ends inclining upwardly from the central portion thereof into engagement with the innersurface of said retainer plate, and stop Vmeans on said b ead-like portion for limiting the outward movement of said retainer plate under the infduence of said spring means.

5. A key support fora keyvcase or the like, comprising a supporting plate having in its upper part a forwardly projecting bead-like portion, said bead-like portion-having a transverse slot therein, .the upper portion of said slot being narrowand the lower portion of said slot adjacent to the line of juncture of said bead-,like portion with the body of said supporting plate being enlarged to permit the insertion of the head of a key hook therethrough, retaining means overlying said supporting plate and normally blocking the removal of a key hook head through the enlarged portion of said slot, means movably connecting said retaining means to said supporting plate and enabling said retaining means to move from such normal position inwardly towards said supporting plate 'to permit passage of a key hook head through such enlarged slot portion, and resilient means Vfor maintaining said retaining means :in normal position and for yieldingly vresisting movement of said retaining means towards said supporting plate.

6; A key support for a key case or the like, comprising a supporting plate having inits upper part a forwardly projecting bead-like portion, said bead-like portion having r`a transverse slot therein, the upper portion ofsaid slot being nar.- row and the lower portion of said slot adjacent to the line of juncture of said bead-like portion with the body of said supporting plate being enlarged to permit the insertion of theheadof a key hook therethrough, retaining means :overlying said supporting plate and normally blocking the removal of a key hook head through the enlarged portion of said slot, means movably connecting said retaining means to said supporting plate and enabling said retaining means to move from such normal position inwardly towards said supporting plate to permit passage of a key hook head through such enlarged slot portion, a spring positioned intermediate said supporting plate and said retaining means for maintaining the latter in normal position and for yieldingly resisting movement of the same towards said supporting plate, and stop means for limiting the outward movement of said retaining means under the inuence of said spring.

'7. A key support for a key case or the like, comprising a supporting plate having in its upper part a forwardly projecting bead-like portion, said bead-like portion having a transverse slol'l therein, the upper portion of said slot being narrow and the lower portion of said slot adjacent to the line of juncture of said bead-like portion .with the body of said supporting plate being enlarged to permit the insertion of the head of a key hook therethrough, the enlarged portion of said slot extending into the material of said plate adjoining said bead-like portion, a member overlying said supporting plate and movably connected to the same, a blocking member provided on the upper end of said overlying member, said overlying member being normally positioned so that said blocking member closes the enlarged slot portion on said bead-like portion and being movable from its'Y normal position inwardly towards saidl supporting plate to remove said blocking member from its closing relation with such enlarged slot portion to permit passage of a kei7 hookv head therethrough, said blocking member during the inward movement of Ysaid overlying member entering into the enlarged slot portion in the portion of the plate adjoining said beadlike' portion, and spring means below said blocking member and intermediate said` supporting plate and said overlying member for maintaining the latter in its normal position and for yieldingly resisting movement of'the same towards said supporting plate.

8. A key support for a key case or the like, comprising a supporting plate having in its upper part a forwardly projecting bead-like portion, said bead-like portion having a transverse slot therein, the upper portion of said slot being narrow and the lower portion of said slot adjacently over the line of juncture of said bead-like portion with the body of said supporting plate being enlarged to permit the insertion of the head of a key hook therethrough, and retaining means for normally blocking passage of a key hook through such enlarged slot portion overlying said supporting plate and movably mounted on the body portionlof said plate for movement'relative thereto, said'retaining means including a' member normallyv raised relative to said supporting plate to block the enlarged portion of the slot in said bead-like portion in the normal condition' of such retaining means and movable from such raised blocking position inwardly toward said supporting plate to uncover the enlarged portion of the slot in said bead-like portion and means operable to move said blocking member inwardly to a position in which such enlarged portion of the slot in said bead-like portion is uncovered to permit the removal of a key hook, and means for returning said retaining means to normal condition in which said blocking member is raisedvto its normal blocking position after such inward movement of the latter.

9. A key support for a key case or the like, comprising a supporting plate having in its upper part a forwardly projecting bead-like portion, said bead-like portion having a transverse slot therein, the upper portion of said slot being narrow and the lower portion of said slot adjacently over the line of juncture of said bead-like portion with the body of said supporting plate being enlarged to permit the insertion of the head of a key hook therethrough, and retaining means for normally blocking passage of a key hook through such enlarged slot portion overlying said supporting plate and movably mounted on the body portion of said plate for movement relative thereto, said retaining means including a member underlying said bead-like portion and normally raised relative to said supporting plate to block the enlarged portion of the slot in said bead-like portion in the normal condition of such retaining means and movable from such raised blocking position inwardly toward said supporting plate to uncover the enlarged portion of the slot in said bead-like portion and depressible means operable to move said blocking member inwardly to a position in which such enlarged portion of the slot in said bead-like portion is uncovered to permit the removal of a key hook, and means yieldingly resisting movement of said depressible means to unblock such enlarged portion of the slot and for raising said blocking member to its normal blocking position after pressure on said depressible means has been released.

' ROBERT C. LEGAT.

EMILIO BARETTA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,904,354 Buxton Apr. 18, 1933 2,038,070 Welch Apr. 21, 1936 2,051,432 Zahn Aug. 18, 1936 2,093,327 Legat Sept. 14, 1937 2,201,850 Dawson, Jr May 21, 1940 2,421,492 Geller June 3, 1947 

